Operations with instrumented game ball

ABSTRACT

This document provides a computer-implemented method that includes placing an athletic ball containing a battery on an inductive charging device; generating an electric or magnetic field, or both with the inductive charging device; receiving energy from the field or fields via a receptor located inside the athletic ball; and charging a battery inside the athletic ball using the received energy. This document also provides devices and methods for detecting events with an instrumented player-controllable game device, such as an event of a basketball or soccer ball passing through a goal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/120,368, having a filing date of Sep. 3, 2018, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/411,938, having afiling date of Dec. 30, 2014, which is a National Stage applicationunder 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No.PCT/US2013/048958, having and International Filing Date of Jul. 1, 2013,which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser.61/667,183, filed Jul. 2, 2012; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.61/667,178, filed Jul. 2, 2012; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.61/711,186, filed Oct. 8, 2012 and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.61/793,206, filed Mar. 15, 2013. The disclosure of the priorapplications are considered part of (and are incorporated by referencein) the disclosure of this application.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This document relates to systems and techniques for operating aninstrumented game device that can be handled by a user, such as abasketball or soccer ball that has motion sensors and other electronicsmounted in and/or on the device.

BACKGROUND

Athletics has become an integral part of society, with multipletelevision channels dedicated to sporting events, with professionalathletes promoting all sorts of products, and with the public holdingstar athletes—both amateur and professional—in high regard, so as tosupport financial rewards such as college scholarships, sponsorshipopportunities, and other revenue-generating careers. Millions of peoplewatch professional and collegiate athletic events on any given night,and hundreds of millions or billions watch major events like the SuperBowl, Final Four, the soccer World Cup, and other championships.

As a result, athletes can make large sums of money, as can the teams andothers that support them. The relative increase in importance ofathletics has been accompanied by attempts to increase athleticperformance at all levels of development, from young children toprofessionals. Many such techniques depend on personal, subjectivereview of an athlete's performance and skills, and thus can suffer fromobserver bias and other similar issues. Also, many factors for athleticperformance are too subtle for human observance.

SUMMARY

This document describes systems and techniques that may be used incombination with an instrumented human-manipulable sporting device suchas a soccer ball or basketball. In particular, the techniques describedhere relate to support that may be provided for instruments that arelocated in or on such sporting devices, such as sensor assemblieslocated in a ball for measuring movement (e.g., gyros andaccelerometers) of, and magnetic fields around, such devices. Datagenerated by such components can be used in a variety of ways, such asto compare one athlete's performance to the performance of otherathletes (whose performance metrics based on ball motion data may bestored in a central database), to provide data in association withentertainment (such as showing motion-derived statistics or other dataoverlaid on the screen of a television of a sporting event that is inprogress), or in using motion data to affect the play of a videogame,such as by using motion data from a person to affect the manner in whichhis or her avatar performs in a videogame.

In one example, inductive charging of electronics in a ball may occurfrom a dock onto which the ball may be placed. The dock may include oneor more electrically-charged primary coils that establish an electricaland magnetic field above the dock and coil(s), while the ball may beprovided with one or more secondary coils that are sized, shaped, andarranged to have inductive current created in them by the dock. Forexample, one or more metallic coils may be imprinted on or in a rubberbladder for a ball, in a position so that an electrical current isinduced in the coils when they are placed above a charging station. Inanother example, the secondary coil may be made from a flexible printedcircuit board that can be installed between the construction layers of aball. In some embodiments that use a single secondary coil, the ball mayneed to be positioned on the charging station in a particularorientation to achieve efficient inductive coupling between the primaryand secondary coils—and the outside of the ball may be imprinted withindications (e.g., arrows pointing in the appropriate direction, or adrawing of the ball properly positioned) or instructions to cause a userto position the ball properly.

In some embodiments, multiple such coils may be located around the ballso that the ball is not required to be positioned at a particular angle,but can simply be dropped on the dock or other portable charging ordetection device (which may be in the form of a standard rollingbasketball rack that can hold multiple balls, or in another appropriateform). The dock or other portable charging or detection device may alsoinclude wireless communications capabilities and electronics forinitiating communication with any ball placed in the dock, so as to readdata off such a ball, to identify the ball, and to cause the ball toerase its memory of such data so as to make room for additional data.

In another example, this document describes systems and techniques thatmay be used to identify certain events relating to a player manipulableitem, such as a game ball. In the examples described herein,instrumentation and sensors may be provided in a game ball or similaritem (e.g., hockey puck), including sensors for identifying the presenceof metallic objects near or around the item. As one example, electronicsin a ball (e.g., applied to or in the bladder of an inflatable ball) maybe electrically energized, and sensors may sense an electric fieldcreated by such energizing. When the ball passes by a metallic object,such as the ring of a basketball hoop, the field can be affected, andsuch affectation can be sensed with the sensors. When the signature ofthe change reflects a change that is known to relate to the ball passingthrough the ring of the hoop (perhaps by the magnetic data alone, or incombination with other data, such as accelerometer or gyro data thatindicates a player recently released the ball in the form of a shot, orslammed it down in the form of a dunk, and also in combination withafter-occurred data, such as a sudden but soft deceleration and changein rotation that is indicative of the ball “swishing” through the net inbasketball), the ball can record an event that is associated with a madeshot (e.g., by storing a flag that relates to such an event along with aclock time for the event). The ball may then communicate thatdata—either immediately while the ball is being used, or later such aswhen the ball is laid in an inductive charging cradle that also includeswireless or wired data communication capabilities for communicating withthe electronics inside the ball.

As another example, coils can be located in the ball to sense theearth's magnetic field. That is, the coils can be configured to sensethe far-field electromagnetic field emanating from the earth. Inaddition, the coils of the ball are able to sense disturbances to thefar-field signals, and those disturbances can be correlated toinformation about objects in close proximity to the ball. For example,when the ball is close to a ferromagnetic (e.g., steel) basketball rim,the coils of the ball will sense a disturbance in the magnetic fieldsignal. The near-field signature of the ball being close to thebasketball rim, but not passing through the rim will be detectablydifferent from the near-field signature of the ball passing through therim. Thus, the magnetic field signals received by the coils can becorrelated to whether a goal was made or missed.

Through such mechanisms or other mechanisms, such as by Wi-Fi orBluetooth wireless data connections, associated electronics in the ballmay be paired with a communication and/or computing device such as asmartphone or tablet computer. A sensor unit in the ball may have apairing table memory that stores several previously paired Bluetooth—orother-enabled devices. An application installed on such a device, suchas an application downloaded to the device from an application stored,can be purchased or obtained for free, and may provide for enhancedinteractivity with such a ball. For example, an athlete may charge aball on a charging base or dock, and may at that time or another timepair the ball or the dock with a smartphone. The athlete may, aftercharging the electronics in the ball, perform a number of predetermined,instructed (e.g., from a web site or an app on their smartphone) drills,such as dribbling (e.g., regular dribbling, crossovers, etc.) andshooting drills (e.g., set shots and jump shots from various locationsand distances). While the drills are being performed, the ball maycollect motion data and may partially process the data into a usableform by employing on-board processing algorithms and circuitry. (Theball may turn on automatically upon sensing a certain number of hardbounces, and may turn off automatically when placed in a charging baseor dock, or upon the expiration of a predetermined time without a hardbounce, e.g., an acceleration similar to a bouncing of the ball on ahard floor, like in a typical dribble). During the drills or uponcompletion of the drills, the data may be transmitted in whole or inpart of the smartphone or other device, and a user may employ a GUI onthe device to ascertain his or her performance, including by seeing hisor her performance compared to one or more (e.g., aggregated orindividual) other players of like skill levels. Such an application mayalso communicate with a server system, and may provide grades or otherscores on aspects of the athlete's performance in particular aspects ofthe drills, and may also provide targeted recommendations for improvingperformance in certain aspects of the athlete's game.

In certain implementations, such systems and technique may provide oneor more advantages. For example, an instrumented ball can be providedand can be recharged conveniently and inexpensively by a user. Multiplesuch balls may also be charged in a similar manner, such as when usedfor practices for an entire team. Communication to and from the ballsmay also occur simultaneously with such inductive charging. The use ofinductive charging techniques enables the balls to be watertight andhave no exposed electrical connectors, while still allowing for chargingof a battery or other electrical energy storage mechanism internal tothe ball. Further, more complete and accurate statistics may bemaintained by a system, in that the precise time of a basket beingscored may be determined (to small fractions of a second), and shot hangtime can also be computed by subtracting from such a “made” time, a timeat which motion sensor data indicates that the ball left a player'shand. Moreover, automatic scoring and statistics gathering systems maybe employed and may be less expensive than all-human systems and providegreater accuracy and precision. Such hoop sensing as described here mayplay a role in a larger system by gathering data about the relativescore of a game (and may be integrated with the game clock toautomatically determine, for example, whether the shot was a free throwor a regular shot—and referring may be provided a remote control with abutton they press when raising their hands to indicate a three-pointshot). With such a system, the role of scorer may also be assigned toone of the game officials, making the administration of a game easier(fewer people who have to be located) and less expensive.

In one implementation, a computer-implemented method is disclosed thatcomprises placing an athletic ball containing a battery on an inductivecharging device; generating an electric or magnetic field, or both withthe inductive charging device; receiving energy from the field or fieldsvia a receptor located inside the athletic ball; and charging a batteryinside the athletic ball using the received energy. The method can alsocomprise transmitting data wirelessly from the ball in response tosensing the inductive charging device. The inductive charging device canhave a receptacle on its top surface sized to hold the ball from rollingwhen the ball is placed in the receptacle.

In certain aspects, the receptor comprises one or more coils mounted ina periphery of the ball. The one or more coils can be imprinted on alayer that makes out a periphery of the athletic ball, and can include aplurality of coils in different hemispheres of the ball so as to enablecharging of the battery when the ball is at different rotational anglesin relation to the inductive charging device. The method can alsocomprise measuring an electric or magnetic field around the ball whenthe ball is away from the inductive charging device. In someimplementations, the one or more coils mounted in the periphery of theathletic ball are formed integrally with a flexible circuit board.

In another general aspect, an athletic game ball is provided herein. Theathletic game ball comprises a multi-layer ball shell sealed from anarea around the ball shell; one or more electronic sensors locatedwithin a periphery of the ball; and one or more inductive electricsecondary charging coils located in the ball shell or on an interiorsurface of the ball shell and connected to provide electrical energy toone or more energy storage devices connected to supply power foroperating the one or more sensors.

In various implementations, the athletic game ball may further comprisea circuit board supporting the electronic sensors and associatedcircuitry for monitoring motion of the game ball. The associatedcircuitry may comprise a wireless communication chip or chip set. Theone or more inductive charging coils may be connected to serve asantennas for the wireless communication chip or chip set. The associatedcircuitry may be programmed to begin transmitting data stored in theball upon detecting that the ball has been docked into a chargingstation. The one or more sensors may comprise (i) an accelerometer, (ii)a magnetometer or angular rate sensor, and (iii) near fieldcommunications sensor to identify the ball as it relates to otherdevices detected in close vicinity. The one or more inductive chargingcoils may be positioned so that the ball can be charged when set at anyangle in a charging base that contacts or almost contacts only portionsin one hemisphere of the ball. The athletic ball may further compriseone or more inductive electric primary charging coils configured towirelessly transmit electric power to the one or more inductive electricsecondary charging coils when the coils are placed in close proximity toeach other. The inductive electric primary charging coils may be locatedin a charging base arranged to receive the ball without the ball readilyrolling off of the charging base. The one or more inductive electricsecondary coils may be imprinted on a layer from which a shell of theball is constructed. The one or more inductive electric secondary coilsmay include a plurality of coils in different hemispheres of the ball soas to enable charging of the battery when the ball is at differentrotational angles in relation to a charging base. The one or moreinductive electric secondary coils may be formed integrally with aflexible printed circuit board. The associated electronics may beprogrammed to identify perturbations in an electric or magnetic fieldaround the ball so as to identify when the ball has passed near a gaminggoal.

In another general aspect, a method of constructing an instrumentedathletic game ball is provided herein. The method comprises: providingan electronics receptor in an interior volume of a ball bladder layerthat is part of a periphery of the game ball; applying one or moreinductive charging coils to a layer that is part of the periphery of thegame ball; connecting the one or more inductive charging coils to anelectronic sensor package; and inserting the electronic sensor packageinto the electronics receptor so that the electronics sensor package iswithin the periphery of the game ball.

In various implementations, the one or more inductive charging coils maybe applied to the ball bladder or other layers of the ball construction.The electronics may be attached to the inductive charging coil beforethe inductive charging coil is applied to the layer that is part of theperiphery of the game ball. The electronics may be attached to theinductive charging coil after the inductive is applied to the layer thatis part of the periphery of the game ball. At least one of the one ormore inductive charging coils may be located to surround a hole in theball bladder at a location of the electronics receptor. The method mayfurther comprise, after applying the one or more inductive chargingcoils to the layer, applying windings around the bladder. Theelectronics sensor package may include a battery for powering componentsof the electronics sensor package and for receiving electrical chargingpower from the inductive charging coil. The one or more inductivecharging coils may be connected to the electronic sensor package beforethe one or more inductive charging coils are applied to the layer thatis part of the periphery of the game ball. The method may furthercomprise testing charging of the electronics sensor package via the oneor more inductive charging coils to verify proper operation of the gameball. The test may occur by applying a defined charging action to theball and determining a relative change in charge of the electronicssensor package in response to the defined charging operation.

In another general aspect, a computer-implemented method is providedherein. The computer-implemented method comprises: identifying, with acomputer system, data captured from sensors positioned to sense amagnetic field around, created by, or affected by a sporting device aspart of an actual sporting event; analyzing the data with the computersystem to identify a temporary change in a field around the sportingdevice that is indicative of a scoring event using as part of thesporting event the sporting device; and registering the occurrence of ascoring event in response to the analyzing.

In various implementations, identifying data captured form the sensorsmay comprise streaming data wirelessly from the sporting device to awireless access point as the sporting device captures more data aboutthe sporting event. Streaming data wirelessly from the sporting devicemay comprise essentially simultaneously streaming data that indicatesmotion of the sporting device and data that represents a field aroundthe sporting device. Analyzing the data may comprise identifying adisruption of defined magnitude in a magnetic field around the sportingdevice. The sporting device may be an inflatable ball and the fieldaround the sporting device may be created by electronics within thesporting device. The sporting device may be an inflatable ball and thefield may be created by application of electrical energy to a goalthrough which the sporting device passes. The sporting device may be aninflatable ball and the field around the sporting device may be themagnetic field of the earth. The sensors may comprise electricallyconductive devices applied in or on a bladder or shell or both of thesporting device. The computer-implemented method may further compriseusing the electronically conductive devices to provide inductivecharging to electronics inside the ball and through a shell of the ball.

The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanyingdrawings and the description below. Other features and advantages willbe apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A shows an exploded perspective view of an example instrumentedsports ball with a secondary coil for an inductive charging system.

FIG. 1B shows an example instrumented sports ball with an examplesecondary coil and electronics pack installed within the sports ball.

FIG. 1C shows an example instrumented sports ball with multiplesecondary coils.

FIG. 2 shows an example of electronic instrumentation in a sports ball.

FIG. 3 shows perspective view of an instrumented sports ball on anexample charging station for inductively charging the internal batteryof the instrumented sports ball.

FIG. 4 shows a top view of a cross-section of an example instrumentedsports ball on an example charging station for inductively charging theinternal battery of the instrumented sports ball.

FIG. 5A is a flow chart of an example process for charging aninstrumented sports ball.

FIG. 5B is a flow chart of an example process for assembling aninstrumented sporting ball.

FIG. 6 shows the layers of construction an example basketball.

FIGS. 7A-7D depict example embodiments of secondary coils forinstallation in an example instrumented sports ball.

FIG. 8 shows a scenario for tracking scoring electronically in abasketball game.

FIG. 9A show a graph of field strength around a basketball during flightand missing a goal.

FIG. 9B show graph of field strength around a basketball during flightand making a goal.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of a process for registering scoring eventsusing an instrumented game ball.

FIG. 11 shows an example of a computer device and a mobile computerdevice that can be used to implement the techniques described here.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This document describes systems and techniques for features that can beimplemented as part of an instrumented human-manipulatable game device,such as a soccer ball, basketball, football, a hockey puck, a golf ball,baseball, volleyball, or the like. In one example, coils or otherstructures can be provided in a ball and may induce a current when theball is placed near an inductive charging pad, so as to chargerechargeable batteries in the ball.

FIG. 1A shows an exploded perspective view of an example instrumentedsports ball 100 that is equipped to be inductively charged. In general,the sports ball 100 includes a multi-layer ball shell 110 or periphery,an electronics pack 120, and a secondary coil 130. As described furtherbelow, the electronics pack 120 can be placed in a pocket 150 that canbe constructed as an integral part of the ball shell 110. The secondarycoil 130 can be disposed between the layers of construction of the ballshell 110—such as on top of the carcass layer 140 but beneath the skinpanels (not shown). When the electronics pack 120 and the secondary coil130 are so installed, the instrumented sports ball 100 can look like andfunction like an ordinary sports ball—because the secondary coil 130 andelectronics pack 120 are contained and hidden within the ball shell 110in a manner that does not appreciably effect the typical playabilityperformance of the sports ball 100.

A basketball is provided here as an example embodiment of aninstrumented sports ball 100, but the systems and techniques providedhere can be applied to a variety of sporting devices, e.g. soccer balls,footballs, hockey pucks, golf balls, baseballs, volleyballs, or thelike. For ease of description and understanding, the instrumented sportsball 100 may be alternately referred to herein, in a non-limiting sense,as basketball 100. In some embodiments, basketball 100 can be a standardfull-size basketball having an inflated circumference of about 29.5inches. As another example, basketball 100 can be a standard mid-sizebasketball having an inflated circumference of 28.5 inches. The providedinstrumented basketball 100 shares many other characteristics in commonwith a standard basketball. For example, the ball shell 110 can beconstructed from multiple layers of material. The outermost layer of theexample basketball 100 can include the generally recognizable skinpanels 160 that may be made of a synthetic or natural material that aretraditionally textured and dyed an orange color. Basketballs aretypically constructed such that directly beneath the visible skin panels160 is a carcass layer 140. Beneath the carcass layer 140 are otherlayers including a windings layer and a bladder layer that are describedin reference to FIG. 6 below. As discussed below, the pocket can beanchored to the inside of, to the outside of, or between any of thelayers, as appropriate. Also, a coil 120 may similarly be located on theoutside of, on the inside of, or between adjacent pairs of any of thelayers, as appropriate. Generally, the coil 120 may be located at alevel in the stack of layers that is the same level as the opening ofthe pocket, though connections between the electronics and the coil 120may be made in various manners.

While certain aspects of the instrumented basketball 100 are common toan ordinary basketball, one different feature is the pocket 150 of theinstrumented basketball 100. The pocket 150 can be integrated into theconstruction of the ball shell 110. For example, as described further inU.S. Publication No. 2012/0058845 which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety, the pocket 150 can be initially formed bymolding as a separate item. The pocket 150 can then be affixed to aninner bladder of the ball shell 110 (the inner bladder is describedfurther below in reference to FIG. 6). For example, in some embodiments,the pocket 150 can be made integral with the inner bladder of theinflatable object during a molding process used to produce the innerbladder. In other embodiments, the pocket 150 can be adhered to thebladder using an adhesive welding process. In some cases, the materialof the inner bladder and the material of all or a portion of the pocket150 can be treated (e.g., vulcanized) to form an integral unit.

An electronics pack 120 can be housed within the pocket 150. The pocket150 can be specifically configured to contain the electronics pack 120(e.g., by having a molded opening sized and shaped to match the pack 120so that the pack is held securely). The electronics pack 120 can be anassembly of one or more electronic components, such as a battery 122 andone or more circuit boards 124. The battery 122 can supply power tocircuit board 124 and other electronic components housed within pocket150. In some embodiments, the battery 122 can receive electrical powerfrom the circuit board 124 to be recharged (in addition to supplyingelectrical power to the circuit board 124 in order to power componentsmounted on the circuit board 124). A secondary coil 130 can beelectrically attached to the circuit board 124 in order to provide asource of electrical energy for powering a battery charging circuitincluded on the circuit board 124 as described further below. In otherembodiments, the secondary coil 130 (which is “secondary” because it isarranged to receive electrical energy inductively from a separateprimary coil described in more detail below) can be mounted directly tothe battery 122 (e.g. to a chip package or circuit board that ispackaged as part of the battery 122), which may be provided withelectronics for managing its charging and discharging.

In addition to a battery charging circuit, the circuit board 124 caninclude various electronic components including sensors such as motionsensors (e.g., accelerometers, angular rate gyros, and magnetometers),temperature sensors, pressure sensors, and magnetometers. The sensorscan be configured to, for example, record data relating to motion of thesports ball 100 to which pocket 150 containing the electronics pack 120is attached or is a part of. For example, the sensors can measureangular velocity, acceleration, linear velocity, and/or deceleration. Asanother example, the sensors can identify the number of times that abasketball 100 is bounced or contacted within a set time period usingsuch measured parameters. As yet another example, the sensors canmeasure an angle at which basketball 100 contacts a surface (e.g., thefloor). As yet another example, the sensors can be used to identify aspin rate of a sports ball 100. As another example, the sensors can beused to identify the frequency and force with which a punching bag ispunched or otherwise contacted. As still another example, the sensorscan be used to identify the number of times a soccer ball is contactedover a set time period. The sensors can also, for example, be used tomeasure the spin rate of a spiraling football, the arc of a basketballshot, the spin axis and spin rate of a basketball shot, or the velocitywith which a soccer ball is kicked. As still a further example, amagnetometer sensor can be configured to sense the presence of ametallic object external to the instrumented sports ball 100, such aswhen an instrumented basketball 100 is near or goes through the metalrim of the typical basketball goal.

The battery 122 can, for example, be a primary battery (e.g.,non-rechargeable alkaline), or a rechargeable battery such as anickel-metal hydride, lithium ion, lithium polymer, or zinc oxidebattery. In some embodiments, the battery 122 can be directly installedonto the circuit board 124. In other embodiments, the battery 122 can beconnected to the circuit board 124 via conductive wires. In some cases,the battery 122 can be pre-packaged together with the circuit board 124to provide a unitary pack for insertion into the pocket 150. In othercases, the battery 122 and the circuit board 124 can be separate itemsthat are connected together by electrical wires.

The electronics pack 120 can be placed in the pocket 150 so that theelectronics pack 120 is below the rim around the periphery of theopening of the pocket 150, where the rim is coextensive with the outerperiphery of the ball (though even a round ball will ultimately haveminor variability because of seems, stitching, and the like). However,the secondary coil 130 can remain exterior to the pocket 150. Therefore,the electrical connection (e.g., wires or flexible printed circuitboard) between the electronics pack 120 and the main portion of thesecondary coil 130 can be routed from the electronics pack 120 locatedinside of the pocket 150 to the secondary coil 130 located outside ofthe pocket 150.

In FIG. 1B, an embodiment illustrating an example final installationpositioning of the secondary coil 130 within the basketball 100 isshown. In particular, a ball 100 may be enclosed with the secondary coil130 inside of it, in a manner that the ball will bounce easily whilemaintaining pressurized air inside it—but the secondary coil 130 maystill be accessible inductively.

The secondary coil 130 can be part of a system for inductively(wirelessly) charging the battery 122 within the sports ball 100. Inthis embodiment, the main portion of the secondary coil 130 is shown asapproximately circular (from above, though thin and arced form theside). However, as will be described below in reference to FIGS. 7A-7D,the secondary coil 130 can also have a variety of configurations otherthan circular. The secondary coil 130 is depicted by hidden (dashed)lines because the installation position of the secondary coil 130 ispositioned below at least the top skin panels 160—and may be betweenother lower layers of the ball. In this manner then, the secondary coil130 is typically not visible on the outside of the ball, and the one ormore top skin panels 160 that covers the coil can be made to appear nodifferently than the other top skin panels 160 that do not cover asecondary coil 130. In some embodiments, the secondary coil 130 may beinstalled in an area on a layer of the sports ball 100 that has asurface depression designed to approximately cradle the secondary coil130. Such a surface depression may allow the secondary coil 130 to beembedded in the ball construction layer on which the secondary coil 130is installed. Using this technique, the outer surface of the secondarycoil 130 can be flush with or at approximately the same planar level asthe ball construction layer in which the secondary coil 130resides—thereby enabling an installation of the secondary coil 130 toenhance the playability of the instrumented sports ball 100, in that theball will not bulge in any manner in a location where the secondary coil130 is installed.

The dashed lines of secondary coil 130 represent the continuouselectrical conductor that primarily makes up the secondary coil 130. Theends of the coiled conductor are electrically attached to the circuitboard 124 of the electronics pack 120. Also, the secondary coil 130 maybe connected to the circuit board 124, so as to feed field informationto the electronics so that the electronics can adequately determine thefield around the sports ball 100. In other words, and as discussed inmore detail above and below, the secondary coil 130 can both receiveelectrical power and provide it for charging a battery in the ball, cansense electrical fields around the ball and report data about suchfields (though such sensing may also or alternatively occur using amagnetometer that is separate from the coil 130), and can be used as acommunication mechanism itself by receiving data from and providing datato, a charging dock or other item that might be in proximity to the ball(though such data may also occur or alternatively occur using otherwireless communication mechanisms such as a Wi-Fi chipset attached tothe circuit board 124).

The secondary coil 130 can be constructed in various manners. In oneembodiment, the secondary coil 130 can be a type of commercially knowninductance coil product similar to those, for example, manufactured byVishay Intertechnology, Inc. of Malvern, Pa. In other embodiments, thesecondary coil 130 can be made of a copper-clad flexible printed circuitboard material that is manufactured to provide conductor paths arrangedin a spiral configuration. The flexible printed circuit board materialcan also have multiple layers that can provide for multipleapproximately concentric coils which can enable a higher rate ofinductive energy transfer than a single layer of material.

In some embodiments, the secondary coil 130 and the circuit board 124 ofthe electronics pack 120 can be concurrently manufactured from one pieceof flexible circuit board material. Such a configuration can eliminatethe need to secondarily connect the conductor of the secondary coil 130to the circuit board 124—and may provide a robust and reliableelectrical connection between the secondary coil 130 and the circuitboard 124. In some embodiments, the secondary coil 130 can bemanufactured separately from the printed circuit board 124, and the twocan be secondarily electrically connected—such as at the time of theinstallation of the electronics pack 120 into the pocket 150. Thesecondary connections between the coil 130 and the circuit board 124 canbe made in a number of manners, including soldering, crimping, usingterminal connections, male/female connectors with detents, and the like.Effective strain relief techniques can be provided in conjunction withthe connections to enhance the reliability of the electrical connectionsbetween the secondary coil 130 and the circuit board 124.

The ends of the conductor of the secondary coil 130 travel from thecoiled portion of the secondary coil 130 to the electronics pack 120 viaan approximately linear tail portion 132 as shown. The tail portion 132can act as a shock absorber to isolate the flexing caused by impacts atthe surface of the ball shell 110 from being transferred from thesecondary coil 130 to its connections with the circuit board 124. Inthis manner, the stress on, and transmitted by, the electricalconnections can be reduced, and the reliability of the electronics canbe enhanced.

FIG. 1C depicts an example embodiment of an instrumented sports ball 104with multiple secondary coils 130, 134, and 136. This ball can share thesame basic structure and features as described above regarding sportsball 100, while having multiple secondary coils 130, 134, and 136.Though the instrumented sports ball 104 is depicted as having threesecondary coils 130, 134, and 136, more than three coils may also beused. For example, each of the eight panels in the typical basketballcan have at least one secondary coil. Further, in some embodiments, twoor more secondary coils may be positioned in each of the eight panels.

The addition of more secondary coils can provide greater functionalityand convenience regarding the inductive power transfer process. Forexample, with multiple secondary coils, the requirements for theaccuracy of the positioning of the ball on the charging station toachieve the needed coupling alignment between the primary and secondarycoils can be less stringent, or completely eliminated. With the additionof more secondary coils, more properly coupled orientations of the ballto the charging station can be achieved (i.e., at least one properlycoupled orientation for each of the secondary coils). As more secondarycoils are added, one or more of the secondary coils can be in couplingalignment with the primary coil in multiple orientations or anyorientation of the ball to the charging station. In this manner, theorientation of the ball to the charging station can become irrelevant ornearly irrelevant to the inductive charging process.

Other features of the instrumented sports ball 104 with multiplesecondary coils 130, 134, and 136 may be enhanced by the addition ofmultiple secondary coils. For example, the data transfer process may beenhanced in that the data may be transferrable over a greater distanceor at a higher data transmission rate. Further, a sensitivity of theball 104 to detect field disruptions near the ball 104 may be enhanced.This feature may enable improved properties for detecting when, forexample, the basketball is near or goes through the rim of a basketballgoal.

FIG. 2 depicts a cross-sectional view of pocket 150 with the electronicspack 120, including the battery 122 and circuit board 124, installed inthe pocket 150. In some embodiments, the circuit board 124 can be in theform of a single discrete module, and can include sensors, acorresponding printed circuit board (PCB), memory, and the like asdescribed further below in reference to FIG. 8. Also, the tail portion132 of the secondary coils 130 may electrically connect the secondarycoils 130 to the circuit board 124 as depicted. The electricalconnection of the secondary coils to the circuit board 124 can beprovided so as to supply charging power for the battery 122, to feedfield information to the circuit board 124, and/or to enable wirelesscommunications from the electronics on the instrumented sports ball 100to an external network or computing device (using e.g., Bluetoothtechnology)—or any combination of one or more of these actions.

The instrumentation of an instrumented sports ball 100 can be located,for example, in a pocket 150 of the ball—as the battery 122 and circuitboard 124 are depicted in FIG. 2. In some cases, the battery 122 and thecircuit board 124 can be embodied as a unitary electronics pack.

The electrical connection between the circuit board 124 and the tailportion 132 of the secondary coils 130 can be accomplished in a varietyof ways. For example, as described above, the ends of the tail portion132 can be connected using male/female connectors, soldered, terminated,crimped, etc., to the circuit board 124.

In other embodiments, the electrical connection of the secondary coils130 to the circuit board 124 can be made as follows. The conductors ofthe tail portion 132 can be exposed (stripped of outer insulation) anddraped into the pocket 150 after the secondary coils are installed inthe ball but prior to the insertion of the electronics pack 120 into thepocket 150. The electronics pack 120 can have corresponding exposedelectrical pads provided on it that are in electrical communication withthe circuit board 124. Just prior to the insertion of the electronicspack 120 into the pocket 150, the conductors of the tail portion 132 canbe positioned adjacent to respective pads on the electronics pack 120.Then when the electronics pack 120 is inserted into the pocket 150, theinner wall of the pocket (and the natural tendency of the tail portionsto spring back straight) can press and hold the conductors of the tailportion 132 in contact with the pads of the electronics pack 120 to makethe electrical connections. In some cases, a retainer ring can beincluded that surrounds the electrical pack 120 to clamp the conductorsof the tail portion 132 in contact with the pads of the electronics pack120. That is, a retainer ring can be initially located around a bottomperiphery of the electronics pack 120. After insertion of theelectronics pack 120 into the pocket 150, and after the physical contactbetween the conductors of the tail portion 132 and the pads of theelectronics pack 120 is established as described above, the ring (whichwill have slid past the tail portion 132 as the pack 120 was inserted)can be slid upwards to a position in which it surrounds the periphery ofthe electronics pack 120 in the area where the pads make contact withthe conductors of the tail portion 132. The conductors of the tailportion 132 can also be contained within the retainer ring—in positionagainst the outside of the electronics pack 120. In this manner, theretainer ring can provide additional clamping force to hold theconductors of the tail portion 132 in reliable contact with the pads ofthe electronics pack 120.

The pocket 150 can be used to retain or position the various electroniccomponents. In some cases, the pocket 150 can be integral with an innerbladder of an inflatable object (e.g., sports ball 100), integral withthe outer skin of an inflatable object, or can be configured to securelyaffix to an inflatable object. The pocket 150 can also be filled with aliquid, foam, or gel that hardens partially or fully after theelectronics pack 120 is placed in the pocket 150.

The electronic components retained or secured in position by pocket 150can include, for example, one or more motion sensors for recordingmotion data and detecting motions of an inflated object to which pocket150 is a part. The motion data collected by the sensors can be used toevaluate various athletic skills and abilities, such as basketballhandling skills, dribbling skills, and shooting skills, that can be usedto assess the skill level of a player and help to improve that player'sskills and abilities.

Pocket 150 can also include an extending lip portion 152 that can beattached to a main body portion 154. Extending lip portion 152 extendsaround main body portion 154 to form a circle (e.g., a complete circle).In some cases, extending lip portion 152 is molded or vulcanized duringmanufacture such that it becomes integral with a layer (e.g., an innerbladder layer, or an outer skin layer) of the inflatable sports object.In some implementations, extending lip portion 152 can extend further insome directions than others (e.g., to form an oval shape). Also,extending lip portion 152 and main body portion 154 can be constructedtogether from a single piece of material. In some implementations,extending lip portion 152 and main body portion 154 are constructed fromseparate pieces and affixed to one another. Extending lip portion 152and main body portion 154 can, for example, be constructed from rubber,flexible or semi-flexible plastic, leather, or composite leather (e.g.,synthetic leather).

Pocket 150 can be affixed to or be made integral with a basketball orother inflatable sports ball. For example, pocket 150 can be designedsuch that all or a portion of extending lip portion 152 becomes integralwith the inner bladder of a sports ball. In some cases, the thickness ofthe inner bladder at the region that includes lip portion 152 can bethicker than the inner bladder at other regions. For example, extendinglip portion 152, when integrated into the inner bladder, can increasethe thickness of the material of the inner bladder in the region aroundthe sensor enclosure. In some cases, the inner bladder material can forma flush interface with the top surface of the pocket 150 at, e.g., upperportions 156. When a sports ball is being manufactured, the upperportions 156 can be placed within an opening in an inner bladder. Oncethe upper portion 156 is inserted, extending lip portion 152 and upperportions 156 can be treated (e.g., vulcanized) such that the material ofextending lip portion 152 and upper portions 156 become integral withthe material of the inner bladder.

In some implementations, pocket 150 can affix to or be made integralwith an inflatable object with (or without) the upper portion 156 ofpocket 150 extending above a surface of the inflated sports objectand/or extending lip portion 152, which can form a portion of the outersurface of the inflatable object.

In some cases, upper portion 156 of pocket 150 and/or the upper surfaceof cap 220 can be textured to match the texture of the outer surfacelayer of the inflatable sports object when upper portion 156 of pocket150 and/or the upper surface of a cap 220 of pocket 150 are configuredto be exposed to an outer surface. In some cases, a separate layer oftextured material can be placed or affixed to upper portion 156 and/orthe upper surface of cap 220 such that the separate layer of texturedmaterial matches the texture of the outer surface layer of theinflatable sports object. Such a separate layer can be designed to havean opening that can be aligned with the opening of cap 220. In someembodiments, cap 220 is a thin material that is selected to closelymatch the properties of the inflated ball to improve bounce performancein the area of the pocket 150. The material can be lightweight plasticor metal, and can be concealed below the surface skin of the ball.

In some embodiments, cap 220 may include one or more holes in the shellmaterial so as to expose status indicator lights such as in the form ofLED lights. Such lights can be activated so as to indicate that the ballis turned on, is working properly, has had an error, or other suchstatus indication. Also the lights may be made to blink by the circuitboard 124, such as to indicate a problem with the electronics. Variousnumbers and colors of lights may be used, and the signals provided tolight the lights may vary based on the implementation. Also, the lightscan be recessed several millimeters into the ball, and the remainder ofthe holes may be filled with transparent, compliant materials, such assilicone, that will not impede the handling and play.

In some embodiments, pocket 150 can include a divider 214 for separatingbattery 122 from circuit board 124, and for more securely holdingbattery 122 and circuit board 124 in place. Divider 214 can be madefrom, for example, rubber, plastic, foam, or another suitable material.In some implementations, the material selected for divider 214 can besuitably shock absorbent so as to retain battery 122 and circuit board124 in place while absorbing at least part of the force of an impactwhen an inflated object to which pocket 150 is attached contacts asurface or other object.

In other embodiments, pocket 150 does not include divider 214. Rather,the cavity defined by the pocket 150 can be a substantially open spacefor the electronics pack 120 to reside in. In some embodiments, theelectrical pack 120 can be securely supported within the pocket 150. Inparticular embodiments, the electrical pack 120 can be surrounded withvibration dampening material such as foam. The pocket 150 can also bedesigned to absorb shock and to transfer heat away from the electronicspack 120, so as to enhance the reliability and performance of theelectronics in the instrumented sports ball 100. In some embodiments,the pocket is attached to a foam ring, and the foam ring is attached tothe bladder of the ball. That construction can provide enhancedvibration and impact energy absorption to protect the electrical pack120.

In some embodiments, the electronics pack 120 can be securely held inthe pocket 150 as a result of the air pressure in the ball shell 100which can collapse flexible walls of the pocket 150 to compress theelectronics pack 120 within the pocket 150 (e.g., as described in U.S.Publication No. 2012/0058845). In other embodiments the electronics pack120 can be held securely in the pocket 150 by installing a cap 220 inthe opening defined by the pocket 150. The cap 220 can be configured sothat the installed cap 220 transmits an appropriate pressure on theelectronics pack 120 to contain the electronics securely within thepocket 150. For example, a cap 220 can be configured to provide a flushor nearly flush surface with the uppermost layer of the pocket 150 andto assist in ensuring that the components stored within pocket 150remain secured in place. The cap 220 can be manufactured, for example,from rubber, plastic, foam, leather, or composite leather. The cap 220can have a suitably compliant lower portion (not shown) that interfaceswith the electronics pack 120 to compress the electronics pack 120securely within the pocket 150. The cap 220 can be held in place in thepocket 150 using a compression fit, a snap fit (as indicated by rim221), by adhesive, using barbs, or the like.

In another embodiment, rather than using a cap 220, the electronics pack120 can be secured in the pocket 150 by adding another material to fillthe open portions within the pocket 150 surrounding the electronics pack120. For example, a curable liquid material such as silicone or rubbercan be poured or injected into the pocket 150 to fill the voids aroundthe electronics pack 150 using a potting process. After curing, thematerial can solidify to hold the electronics pack 150 securely inposition and to absorb shock. In addition, the material can be selectedto provide playability characteristics (e.g., weight, bounce, balance)that are approximately consistent with the host sports ball in general.In another embodiment, a foam material can be injected to fill the voidssurrounding the electronics pack 120 within the pocket 150. In someembodiments, expandable foam can be used for the potting process, andany excess foam that protrudes from the pocket 150 can be trimmed offafter the foam has cured.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example inductive charging system 300 for chargingthe internal battery of an instrumented sports ball 100. The dock 310 inthis example is a portable inductive power source for use in powering orcharging electrical, electronic, battery-operated, mobile, rechargeablebatteries, and other devices, such as instrumented sports ball 100.

In general, an embodiment the charging system 300 comprises two primaryparts. The first part is the pad or charging dock 310. The charging dockcan contain one or more primary coils 340. The primary coils 340 aretypically positioned below the surface of the charging dock, from wherethey emit an alternating magnetic field when an alternating current isapplied to the primary coils 340. In some embodiments, the charging dock310 can also contain various signaling, and switching or communicationcircuitry, or means of identifying the presence of devices or batteriesto be charged or powered. In some embodiments, the charging dock 310 iscompliant with the Qi standard for inductive charging (e.g., theENERGIZER Inductive Charger). In some embodiments, the charging dock 310can also contain multiple coils 340 or sections to charge or powervarious devices or to allow charging or powering of devices or batteriesplaced anywhere on the surface of the charging dock 310.

The second primary part of the charging system 300 is one or moresecondary coils that can receive the energy of the alternating magneticfield emanating from primary coils 340 of the charging dock 310. Thesecondary coils are located within the object to be charged, e.g.,instrumented sports ball 100 containing secondary coils 130. Thesecondary coils transfer the energy to charge a battery, or otherdevice, via an electrical circuit electrically attached to the secondarycoil, e.g., the electrical circuit on circuit board 124 that is wired tosecondary coils 130. The electrical circuit can rectify the alternatingcurrent transmitted to the electrical circuit from the secondary coil toproduce a direct current voltage, which is then used to charge or powerthe sports ball 100 and battery 122.

In this example, the inductive charging dock 310 has two dockingpositions so that it can charge and communicate with at least two sportsballs 100 at the same time. Other configurations with greater or lessernumbers of open positions are also possible. In another embodiment, thecharging dock 310 systems can be integrated into a ball storage rackconfiguration.

The charging dock 310 in this example has a power cord 320 of a normaltype that can be plugged into a wall outlet, and a processing block 330(that may be alternately located internal to the charging dock 310) thatmay include, for example, a step-down transformer and associatedcharging circuitry, along with communications circuitry for causing thedock to communicate wirelessly with the sports balls 100. In someembodiments, such charging systems can be integrated into a rackconfigured for holding or storing the sports balls 100. In someembodiments, the charging system 300 may utilize the Qi standard createdby the Wireless Power Consortium for wireless inductive charging.

One or more primary coils 340 in the charging dock 310 may transmitelectrical energy by inductively coupling with one or more secondarycoils, such as the secondary coils 130 installed between theconstruction layers of the instrumented sports ball 100. The dock 310may provide indicators that the primary and secondary coils 340/130 aresufficiently coupled, such as by energizing an indicator light 350 or byemitting audible tones. In addition, in some embodiments, the coils orother components of the instrumented sports ball 100 may be used towirelessly transmit data to and from the electronics of the sports ball100.

In FIG. 4, section A-A of the basketball 100 illustrates the approximateproper positioning of the secondary coil 130 in relation to the primarycoils 340. Proper alignment and close proximity of the coils 340/130 arekey factors for maximizing the inductive transmission of electricalpower from the charging dock 310 to the sports ball 100. In someembodiments, the charging dock 310 may include labels or indentations toassist with the proper alignment. In some cases the charging system 300may be augmented with supplemental cradles for holding the sports ball100 in position on the charging dock 310. In addition, the sports ball100 may include exterior labeling to identify to the user the properpositioning of the sports ball 100 in relation to the charging dock 310.

In some embodiments, multiple secondary coils 130 may be included in thesports ball 100. The multiple secondary coils 130 can be positionedwithin the sports ball 100 to provide for sufficient charging of thebattery 122 and for enhanced convenience for a user. For example, thesecondary coils 130 may be spaced at multiple locations around theperiphery of the sports ball 100 so that any given secondary coil 130will be within range of the primary coil 340 when the ball 100 is laidon the charging dock 310.

FIG. 5A is a flow chart of an example process 500 for charging aninstrumented athletics ball. In general, the process shows how a ballhaving internal electronic components may have a battery that powersthose components charged, without having to remove the battery from theinside of the ball.

The process begins at box 502, where an instrumented ball and a chargingdock are obtained. The ball may have inside of it several sensors andelectronics and a power source for operating the sensors and perhaps awireless communication interface that is capable of communicating froman inside of the ball to the outside of the ball. The dock may includean inductive charging system for providing charge to the ball that ismatched to a system for receiving charge in the ball and charging anenergy source, such as a battery, in the ball.

At box 504, the ball is placed on the dock. Such an action may trigger amechanical or electronic switch in the dock to cause it to beginproviding electrical power to a primary coil in an inductive chargingsystem. That may in turn activate charging circuitry in the ball tocause energy applied to secondary coils in the ball to charge the energystorage source (e.g., battery or batteries), as indicated at boxes 506and 508. The receptors that receive the electrical power via an electricor magnetic field generated by the dock may take a variety of forms, andmay include one or more coils in or on a shell or bladder of the ball.When a small number of coils is used, it might be necessary to orientthe ball on the dock so that the coils are near the surface of thedock—e.g., the coils may be at the bottom of the ball, and printedindicia may be provided on the ball instructing a user to place the ballin the dock right-side up. As a result of such positioning and powering,then, the battery in the ball may be charged in a familiar manner viainductive charging (box 510).

In addition to charging the ball from the dock, information may becommunicated from the ball to the dock (box 512), including diagnosticinformation that describes the operation of and condition of electronicsin the ball, and also of user data (e.g., motion data and magnetic fielddata) captured by the electronics while a player was bouncing andotherwise using the ball. For example, the ball may be provided withmemory to capture and store such data, and may hold the data untiltriggered to transfer the data to memory in the dock or via a networkconnected to the dock, in response to a data request from the dock,which may be generated automatically whenever the dock senses a ball.Such batch delivery of data to the dock (as opposed to streamed deliverywhile the ball is being used) may be particularly useful when a userplays outdoors or otherwise away from an available wireless accesspoint, or during practices then multiple balls would be streamingsimultaneously and could potentially interfere with each other. In thelatter situation, the players at the end of practice could simply placesall the balls in a standard ball rack, and that rack could be equippedwith inductive charging and communications electronics to charge theballs and read data from the balls.

At box 514, additional functionality of the ball is shown. Inparticular, the same coils that are used as secondary coils forinductive power transfer when the ball is docked on the charging stationcan also be used to generate a small field around the ball and to sensethe strength of that field. Such operations may be used to determinewhen the ball passes through the middle of a basketball hoop (made shot)or passes by an outside edge of the hoop (missed shot). Sharp changes inthe field thus represent presence of a ferro-metallic object near theball, and the relative changes sensed by multiple different sensorsaround the ball may be used to determine where, relative to the ball,the object was, and thus whether a goal was made or missed.

The operations of box 514 can also be implemented in another manner. Inthis implementation, the coils located in the ball sense the earth'smagnetic field. That is, the coils are configured to sense the far-fieldelectromagnetic field emanating from the earth. In addition, the coilsof the ball are able to sense disturbances to the far-field signals, andthose disturbances can be correlated to information about objects inclose proximity to the ball. For example, when the ball is close to aferromagnetic (e.g., steel) basketball rim, the coils of the ball willsense a disturbance in the magnetic field signal. The near-fieldsignature of the ball being close to the basketball rim, but not passingthrough the rim will be detectably different from the near-fieldsignature of the ball passing through the rim. Thus, the magnetic fieldsignals received by the coils can be correlated to whether a goal wasmade or missed. Furthermore, when the ball is spinning with knownrotation rate (as measured by the angular rate sensors) the ball is ableto sample the 3D magnetic field and track proximity of the ball toobjects by observing and measuring the changes in the magnetic fieldover time transformed through the known angular velocity vector.

FIG. 5B is a flow chart of an example process for assembling aninstrumented sporting ball. The ball in this example may be a basketballof standard size and physical performance (e.g., such that it would beapproved for use in organized play by relevant regulatory bodies such asthe NCAA and NBA). In general, the process involves applying areceptacle for electronics in a bladder of the ball and completing stepsof winding the ball and placing panels on the ball as necessary (whereball construction may differ based on the type of ball being built,e.g., soccer, basketball, football, etc.). The process is described hereas a one-step process in which an electronics package (which includessensors, associated supporting electronics, and a battery for poweringthe electronics and for being inductively charged) is placed in the ballearly in the process. As such description is occurring, an alternativetwo-step process will also be described, wherein the electronics are notinserted into the ball until near the end of the process because ofconcerns about heat and/or other parts of the ball-making process beingharmful to the electronics package and particularly to the batterychemistry.

The process begins at box 522, where a rubber ball bladder is provided.The bladder may be manufactured by conventional techniques and may besized appropriately so that a properly-sized ball is produced when thebladder is covered with other necessary layers for the ball. The bladdermay be generally airtight, but may be formed to have a hole in it forreceiving an electronics receptacle. For example, a mold for the bladdermay be provided with a blank that produces the hole when the bladder isinitially formed, or a hole may be cut mechanically into apreviously-produced bladder.

At box 524, an electronics receptacle is mounted in the bladder. In oneexample, the receptacle may take the form of a hollow, cylindrical boothaving a closed end and an open and, and having a skirt extendingoutward from the periphery of the open end, so that the cylindricalportion can be passed through the hole in the bladder and extend towardthe center of the bladder (and in the future toward the center of thecompleted ball), and the skirt may interface with the edge of the holein the bladder, such as by having the skirt adhered (e.g., via chemicaladhesive, sonic welding, or other process that weld the skirt portion ofthe boot to the bladder in an airtight manner. Thus, upon joining theboot to the bladder in this example, the bladder will be complete andgenerally airtight (except perhaps for a hole for a filling needle), andhave an apparent hole in it that leads into the interior of the hollowcylinder of the boot. (The hole is only apparent because the sides andbottom of the cylinder are airtight.)

At box 526, a sensor/battery pack is inserted into the receptacle. Inparticular, an electronics assembly may include sensors (e.g., force,acceleration, and/or magnetometer), associated circuitry forinterpreting, storing, and wirelessly transmitting information capturedby the sensors, and one or more battery cells that power such sensorsand other electronics.

At box 528, the inductive charging coil is applied to the bladder, withthe coil attached to the electronics. For example, the coil may beformed as a flat copper or similar metal ring and may be placed on anoutside surface of the bladder and centered with the hole for thereceptacle on the inside of the ring, and a tab extending from the ringtoward the receptacle so that the tab can be electrically connected tothe electronics (or already has been before the application of the ringto the bladder). The coil can be adhered to the bladder, for example,via a flexible adhesive or in other appropriate manner.

When the ball is finally assembled, the electronics and battery cellswill be connected to an inductive charging coil and be located inside anouter periphery of the ball. However, the order in which the differentcomponents are connected to each other can vary in differentembodiments. For example, the electronics may be attached to the batterycells before or after the electronics are attached to the inductivecharging coil, and before or after the electronics are attached to theball. Similarly, the electronics may be placed in the receptacle beforeor after the receptacle is placed in the ball. As one example, theelectronics could have rubber or other liquid material poured around theelectronics so as to make a receptacle that becomes unitary with theelectronics and provides good mechanical shock absorbance to theelectronics and potentially greater insulation around the electronics(to be discussed below with respect to vulcanization and otherhigh-temperature steps of the process. The assembly of the electronicsin the receptacle/plug may then be inserted into the bladder. In someexamples, the electronics may be mounted between two layers of thebladder, either as the bladder is formed or after formation of thebladder.

Also, the electronics may be introduced before or after high-temperaturesteps occur, such as vulcanization of the rubber. Where the electronicsare introduced after, the inductive charging coil may have its tabattached to the electronics as the electronics are provided in the ball,such as by pushing the electronics into the receptacle as the tabextends into the cylinder and contacts the electronics (at an electricalconductor provide on the side of the electronics package) as the end ofthe tab is bent downward by the passing of the electronics into thehole. The inherent effort of the tab to return to a straight shape willthen hold the tab in contact with the electrical conductor on theelectronics.

Where the electronics are introduced before other high-temperatureoperations, a heat protective patch may be placed over the open end ofthe receptacle (box 530) and may include heat insulative material toprevent excessive heat (e.g., 60 degrees C.) from reaching and damagingthe battery and other electronics. For example, such material may be inthe form of a plug placed in the receptacle, and having an adhesive diskat its outside end so as to hold the material in places in thereceptacle. Also, cooling air may be circulated through the bladderduring high-temperature operations, the receptacle may be held in a heatsink (e.g., immersed in a cool liquid) during the high-temperatureoperations and other such actions may be taken to prevent damage to theelectronics.

In this example, the ball is then wound (box 532), in a conventionalmanner, after the inductive charging coil is applied to the bladder. Thecarcass of the ball is them molded in a conventional manner (box 534) soas to create the last layer of the ball before applying the final panelson the ball. These steps may, in certain implementations, involverelatively high temperatures, so that the precautions just discussed(e.g., not inserting the batteries and/or other electronics until afterthe high-heat activities, or providing insulation or heating offsets tothe components) can be taken to protect relatively sensitive componentsin the ball.

At box 536, the panels are applied to the ball (where the ball is of atype, such as a basketball, that has panels), and various finishingsteps may be performed.

Finally, before or after packing for shipment, tests may be performed onthe electronics, including tests of the chargeability of the ball andthe operation of the sensors. For example, the ball may be placed in afixture that moves the ball in a predetermined manner, and wirelesssensors readings may be provided from the ball to an external computerthat may identify whether those readings match expected readings for theapplied motion. Also, an inductive electrical field may be generated inproximity to the inductive charging coil, and a reading may then betaken from the electronics to confirm that charge was added to thebattery in the ball. With such testing completed, the ball may be passedfor packaging and/or distribution. If the tests fail, they can berepeated one or more times according to a predetermined protocol, and iffailures continue, the ball may be opened up and corrected or may besold as a “second” (where the wireless instrumented operation is notguaranteed to work properly) or even as an un-instrumented ball.

FIG. 6 illustrates, in cross-sectional view, the layered construction ofa typical basketball. However, other constructions of basketballs andother types of inflatable and non-inflatable sporting devices having avariety of constructions are also within the scope of this disclosure.It should be understood that the one or more secondary coils 130 of aninstrumented sports ball 100 can be positioned between any of the layersdescribed here, and between other layers of other constructions ofinstrumented sporting devices. In implementations using more than onesecondary coil 130, the secondary coils 130 can be positioned betweenthe same layers or between different layers.

The skin panels 160 make up the outermost layer. Beneath the skinspanels 160 is a carcass layer 140. In some embodiments, a secondary coil130 can be disposed between the skin panels 160 and carcass layer 140.Directly beneath the carcass layer 140 is the windings layer 170. Insome embodiments, the secondary coil 130 can be disposed between thecarcass layer 140 and the windings layer 170. Directly beneath thewindings layer 170 is the bladder 180. In some embodiments, thesecondary coil 130 can be disposed between the windings layer 170 andthe bladder 180.

FIGS. 7A-7D depict various embodiments of secondary coils forinductively charging an internal battery of instrumented sports ball100. One or more such secondary coils may be installed within aninstrumented sports ball 100. The secondary coils can also function towirelessly transfer data from the electronics of the instrumented sportsball 100, and to sense ferro-magnetic objects in the field around theinstrumented sports ball 100. In practice, as described above, thesecondary coils are located beneath at least the outermost skin panels160 of the basketball 100. However, here they are shown schematically onthe surface of the basketball 100 to aid in visualization of thesecondary coils. In general, the surface area of the secondary coilssubstantially determine the practical capacity or rate of passage ofinductive energy between the primary and secondary coils. Theembodiments shown include approximately the same total surface area, butare disposed in different shapes to illustrate some of the variouspossible configurations of the secondary coil. The configurations of thesecondary coil can be selected, for example, in relation to the geometryof a particular sports object being instrumented, and based on theenergy transfer efficiency realized by the configuration. The conductorsof the secondary coils are typically copper or aluminum, although otherconductive materials may be used. In some embodiments, multiple layersof coils may be used. In other embodiments, a single layer coil may beused. The embodiments shown are non-limiting examples of secondary coilshapes.

FIG. 7A depicts, as a first embodiment, a solid circular secondary coil710. It should be understood that, in practice, the conductor making upcoil 710 can be routed in a spiral configuration within the bounds ofthe circle shown. For simplicity of illustration, the individualconductor is not shown here. The overall footprint of the solid circularsecondary coil 710 is minimized as a result of the compact coilconfiguration. Such a configuration may be particularly useful forsmaller sports objects (e.g. footballs or soccer balls). The solidcircular secondary coil 710 embodiment may result in a high efficiencyand rate of the inductive energy transfer.

In FIG. 7B, an ovular or race-track-shaped secondary coil 720 embodimentis depicted. From a physical standpoint, the relatively long and narrowconfiguration may enable it to be particularly well suited to certaintypes of large or extended sports balls (e.g. a punching bag, football,or basketball). The relatively large outer size of this configurationreduces the number of turns of the conductor, which decreases theinductance properties of the coil. Hence, efficient inductive chargingcan result.

FIG. 7C depicts a third example embodiment of a secondary coil—acircular coil 730. FIG. 7D depicts a fourth example embodiment of asecondary coil—a square coil 740. Both of these designs are flexible inthat they can either have a larger outer size with a narrower activecoil region, or a smaller outer size and have a wider active coil region(while maintaining a similar total surface area). Both configurationsare well suited for efficient coupling with a primary coil.

FIG. 8 shows a scenario 800 for tracking scoring electronically in abasketball game. The view here is an elevation view of a single player802 who has just taken a straightway basketball shot, such as a freethrow or a shot from the top of the key. The ball 804 is provided with anumber of instruments 806 (e.g., coils, magnetometers, or other fieldsensing devices) for sensing a magnetic field through which the ballpasses. That magnetic field may be created by a structure outside theball 804 (e.g., the earth and other sources), or by electronicstructures inside the ball 804, which structures may include instruments806. For example, coils may be printed or otherwise installed inside ofthe ball 804, such as to an interior surface of a rubber bladder in theball 804 or may be inside the layer of the bladder itself so as toprotect the instruments from failure even as the flex with each bounceof the ball 804. Four of the instruments 806 are shown here as anexample, but a variety of numbers of instruments 806 may be employed,and they may be applied in a predetermined pattern, such as at ordinalaxes of the ball (e.g., in six locations). Such an array may be used tobetter sense the presence and location of a field (e.g., to determinewhether the ball, when it passed a basketball hoop 808, went through thehoop 808 or next to it).

A graph 810 of field strength sensed by the instruments 806 against timeor location (which are the same here, since the motion is from left toright along with time), shows an example (for illustration only) of thesensed field strength. Such strength may be from a single sendingstructure, or a combination of multiple such structures. The particularapproach for capturing the signals, and the approach for processing themwill depend on the particular implementation and implementation goals.As can be seen, the field is relatively constant throughout the main arcof the ball, because the ball is far away from anything electric ormagnetic (other than the earth). However, as the ball 804 passes throughthe hoop 808, the field spikes, first in one polarity, and then inanother polarity, as the metal hoop 808 approaches the ball 804 andretreats from the ball 804 (as the ball 804 falls to the floor), andthen settles down again.

The signal may be monitored as the ball 804 is in play (e.g., theelectronics in the ball 804 can be activated by bouncing the ball 804 totrigger a switch inside the electronics in the ball 804, and the ball804 may go into a super lower-powered sleep mode after a predefinedperiod of inactivity), with a system looking for such a spike in thefield around the ball 804. The monitoring and the detection of a scoringevent may occur via electronics on the ball 804 itself, or the fielddata may be transmitted form the ball 804 to a separate computer (notshown) that may analyze the data shown here, and other data form thedevice such as motion data (e.g., from accelerometers and gyros). Fromthe analysis, an event may be triggered to indicate a score or a miss,and the event may be aligned with a timeline of the sporting event, suchas to a timeline whose base is a game clock time for the sporting event.

In this example, the hoop 808 is not instrumented. In other example,electronics connected to the hoop 808 may sense the scoring event, suchas by providing a magnetic metal in the ball 804, and sensing changes ina field around the hoop 808 (e.g., by placing small coils around aninner surface of the hoop and connecting them to sensing electronics).

FIGS. 9A and 9B shows graphs of field strength around a basketballduring flight and as the ball passes by or through a goal. The graphsshow actual measured values over time as a shot is taken and made ormissed. In these examples, field sensors (e.g., coils or magnetometers)were placed on all three axes of the ball.

In the example of FIG. 9A, a missed shot is shown. Although there wassome change in the electromagnetic field sensed by each sensor axis, thechange was minimal. This minimal change may be interpreted as that theball did not pass through or even closely proximate to the hoop.

In the example of FIG. 9B, a made shot is shown. Two of the axes 970 and980 show an abrupt change followed by a return to stasis, while theother axis 960 shows a change that is time-aligned with the other two970 and 980 but is in the other direction of polarity. Such a changepattern may indicate that one of the sensors was on an opposite side ofthe ball as another (and thus had the hoop on its opposite side also).This pattern may therefore be interpreted as that the ball passedthrough the hoop.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of a process for registering scoring eventsusing an instrumented game ball. The process begins at box 1002, wheremotion and field data are captured. For example, an electronics packagein a ball may continuously capture data from electric field sensors,magnetometers, angular rate sensors, accelerometers, gyros, and otherappropriate sensors and may wirelessly transmit it to a form of wirelessaccess point that is away from the ball but near an arena or court wherea sporting event (e.g., a basketball game or scrimmage) is occurring.The data may be streamed to a computer that is executing a data analysisprogram for making sense of the data coming from the ball.

At box 1004, data in the data stream is identified that represents eachof the various parameters being measured. For example, accelerometer andgyroscope data may be combined to identify particular motioncharacteristics for the ball.

At box 1006, the process analyzes the data to identify a temporarychange in a field around the sporting device that is indicative of ascoring event. Such analysis can occur while the system is analyzingother parameters to identify other events that occur with respect to theball, such as bounces on a floor, receipt and disposition of the ball bya player (to indicate a dribble or a pass), and the like. The presenceof a scoring event may be identified initially by a sudden change inelectrical or magnetic field sensed by electronics in the ball, and maybe confirmed by matching the profile of the change to a known profilefor a scoring or near-scoring event. Also, a bounce of the ball off therim can be determined by a particular shape of magnetic field signal anda sudden change in direction of the ball (as indicated byaccelerometers).

At box 1008, the occurrence of a scoring event is registered by thecomputer system in response to the analyzing. For example, where thefield data substantially matches the pattern shown in the image in FIG.9B, a positive scoring event can be logged, such as by tagging atimeline of the game with a flag for such an event (and separatelytagging a number of points represented by the scoring event).

Separately, box 1010 shows an action that can be taken during a break ina sporting event or when the event is complete. In particular, the ballcan be “docked” to a communication and inductive charging pad, which maysimply be a surface with a structure to hold the ball in place andprevent it from rolling around. Also, a traditional ball rack can beinstrumented with electronics that can both communicate with and charge(inductively) the electronics that are inside the balls.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a computer system 1100. The system1100 can be used for the operations described in association with any ofthe computer-implement methods described previously, according to oneimplementation. The system 1100 is intended to include various forms ofdigital computers, such as laptops, tablet computers, desktops,workstations, personal digital assistants, servers, blade servers,mainframes, and other appropriate computers. The system 1100 can alsoinclude mobile devices, such as personal digital assistants, cellulartelephones, smartphones, and other similar computing devices.Additionally the system can include portable storage media, such as,Universal Serial Bus (USB) flash drives. For example, the USB flashdrives may store operating systems and other applications. The USB flashdrives can include input/output components, such as a wirelesstransmitter or USB connector that may be inserted into a USB port ofanother computing device.

The system 1100 includes a processor 1110, a memory 1120, a storagedevice 1130, and an input/output device 1140. Each of the components1110, 1120, 1130, and 1140 are interconnected using a system bus 1150.The processor 1110 is capable of processing instructions for executionwithin the system 1100. The processor may be designed using any of anumber of architectures. For example, the processor 1110 may be a CISC(Complex Instruction Set Computers) processor, a RISC (ReducedInstruction Set Computer) processor, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor),or a MISC (Minimal Instruction Set Computer) processor.

In one implementation, the processor 1110 is a single-threadedprocessor. In another implementation, the processor 1110 is amulti-threaded processor. The processor 1110 is capable of processinginstructions stored in the memory 1120 or on the storage device 1130 todisplay graphical information for a user interface on the input/outputdevice 1140.

The memory 1120 stores information within the system 1100. In oneimplementation, the memory 1120 is a computer-readable medium. In oneimplementation, the memory 1120 is a volatile memory unit. In anotherimplementation, the memory 1120 is a non-volatile memory unit.

The storage device 1130 is capable of providing mass storage for thesystem 1100. In one implementation, the storage device 1130 is acomputer-readable medium. In various different implementations, thestorage device 1130 may be a floppy disk device, a hard disk device, anoptical disk device, or a tape device.

The input/output device 1140 provides input/output operations for thesystem 1100. In one implementation, the input/output device 1140includes a keyboard and/or pointing device. In another implementation,the input/output device 1140 includes a display unit for displayinggraphical user interfaces.

The features described can be implemented in digital electroniccircuitry, or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or incombinations of them. The apparatus can be implemented in a computerprogram product tangibly embodied in an information carrier, e.g., in amachine-readable storage device for execution by a programmableprocessor; and method steps can be performed by a programmable processorexecuting a program of instructions to perform functions of thedescribed implementations by operating on input data and generatingoutput. The described features can be implemented advantageously in oneor more computer programs that are executable on a programmable systemincluding at least one programmable processor coupled to receive dataand instructions from, and to transmit data and instructions to, a datastorage system, at least one input device, and at least one outputdevice. A computer program is a set of instructions that can be used,directly or indirectly, in a computer to perform a certain activity orbring about a certain result. A computer program can be written in anyform of programming language, including compiled or interpretedlanguages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as astand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unitsuitable for use in a computing environment.

Suitable processors for the execution of a program of instructionsinclude, by way of example, both general and special purposemicroprocessors, and the sole processor or one of multiple processors ofany kind of computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructionsand data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both. Theessential elements of a computer are a processor for executinginstructions and one or more memories for storing instructions and data.Generally, a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled tocommunicate with, one or more mass storage devices for storing datafiles; such devices include magnetic disks, such as internal hard disksand removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and optical disks. Storagedevices suitable for tangibly embodying computer program instructionsand data include all forms of non-volatile memory, including by way ofexample semiconductor memory devices, such as EPROM, EEPROM, and flashmemory devices; magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removabledisks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. Theprocessor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in,ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits).

To provide for interaction with a user, the features can be implementedon a computer having a display device such as a CRT (cathode ray tube)or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor for displaying information tothe user and a keyboard and a pointing device such as a mouse or atrackball by which the user can provide input to the computer.Additionally, such activities can be implemented via touchscreenflat-panel displays and other appropriate mechanisms.

The features can be implemented in a computer system that includes aback-end component, such as a data server, or that includes a middlewarecomponent, such as an application server or an Internet server, or thatincludes a front-end component, such as a client computer having agraphical user interface or an Internet browser, or any combination ofthem. The components of the system can be connected by any form ormedium of digital data communication such as a communication network.Examples of communication networks include a local area network (“LAN”),a wide area network (“WAN”), peer-to-peer networks (having ad-hoc orstatic members), grid computing infrastructures, and the Internet.

The computer system can include clients and servers. A client and serverare generally remote from each other and typically interact through anetwork, such as the described one. The relationship of client andserver arises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:identifying, with a computer system, data captured from sensorspositioned to sense a magnetic field around, created by, or affected byan inflatable ball as part of an actual sporting event; analyzing thedata with the computer system, comprising identifying a disruption ofdefined magnitude in earth's magnetic field around the inflatable ballthat is indicative of a scoring event using as part of the sportingevent the inflatable ball; and registering the occurrence of a scoringevent in response to the analyzing.
 2. The computer-implemented methodof claim 1, wherein identifying data captured from the sensors comprisesstreaming data wirelessly from the inflatable ball to a wireless accesspoint as the inflatable ball captures more data about the sportingevent.
 3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein streamingdata wirelessly from the inflatable ball comprises essentiallysimultaneously streaming data that indicates motion of the inflatableball and data that represents earth's magnetic field around theinflatable ball.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, whereinthe sensors comprise electrically conductive devices applied in or on abladder or shell or both of the inflatable ball.
 5. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 4, further comprising using theelectronically conductive devices to provide inductive charging toelectronics inside the ball and through a shell of the ball.